KUALA LUMPUR: National women’s singles player, Goh Jin Wei is just one step away from her target of winning the country’s first gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Buenos Aires, Argentina when she made her way to the final that will take place early tomorrow morning (Saturday).
The Jalur Gemilang flagbearer during the YOG’s opening ceremony booked her place in the girls’ singles final after she pulled out all the stops to defeat Thai lass Phittayaporn Chaiwan 19-21, 21-15, 21-13 in the semi-finals that was played in Technopolis.
Jin Wei, 18, the 2015 World Junior Champion, will face a formidable opponent in the final in the form of Wang Zhiyi of China who bulldozed her way into the final by thrashing Singapore’s Hooi Yue Yann 21-11, 21-10.
Before this, Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria had set a target of winning at least one gold medal for the national contingent at the third edition of YOG, but he stopped short of naming which athlete or sport was capable of delivering on such a target.
In the previous edition that was held in 2010 in Nanjing, China, national men’s singles player Cheam June Wei who partnered Hong Kong’s Ng Tsz Yau won gold in the mixed doubles event.
However, such an achievement was not listed in the medals tally for Malaysia because both the shuttlers competed under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) flag.
